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Ripe Eatery

910 E. Redd Rd.
El Paso, TX
(915) 584-7473

The brother and sister owners of Ripe Eatery had a dream of going into the food business, but I would
say the opening of this new restaurant across from Hornedo Middle School is more the result of a smart
business plan and hard work than the imaginations all of us experience nightly. Ripe is directed to a niche
in the El Paso dining scene that is all but neglected--providing a la carte orders cooked in small batches
made from the freshest ingredients. While some other restaurants try to fill this need, the closing of Kern
Place Market has reminded me just how few of the higher quality restaurants actually
exist in the city. I think people will be quite happy with the results they find at Ripe.

Ripe serves International cuisine, and I think the menu now more truly reflects the diversity found around
the world than when it first opened and concentrated largely on Italian and American dishes. A green chile
hamburger and other Southwest style dishes are served, but I would not say there is anything that reminds
me of the typical Mexican restaurants in town. The "world" menu here is also lacking food from east Asia,
but includes Mediterranean, European, and American.

One word that describes Ripe is that it is "evolving." This means that many of the items I tried on early
visits, although quite good, are no longer on the menu. Other items have been added, but it is probably
not very helpful to recommend individual dishes here because they are constantly changing. Instead, it
is enough to say that generally everything is of good quality and flavor. Ripe has also placed a high
priority on serving vegetarian dishes, and there is a greater selection now than in the past.

Ripe started out as an "Eatery and Market," but now the deli has been phased out and the original
glass cases of the market are no longer there. Take home items are still available, either from the menu
or the daily specials. When the emphasis is on freshness, it is to be expected that the menu will change from
time to time.

The spinach salad is fresh, and the dressing is delicious

The Spinach Salad shown in the picture is no longer served, but other salads are available.
From the prices listed on the menu I am judging that they are larger than the salads that were previously
served. It is apparent, though, that these are not the typical salads served in most restaurants (some of
the salads available include Greek, West Texas cobb, and poached pear).

Vegetable lasagna not only has good quality ingredients, but has a good balance of flavors

Vegetable Lasagna is one of the many dishes I have tried that was not on the regular menu, and
I do not think is currently served (but I am including it just in case it is available again). The one at Ripe was
probably noteworthy for the cheese--not that versions at other restaurants were not good, but the one at
Ripe tasted fresh with a quality of cheese that probably went even beyond what I would purchase for home
use. The tomato sauce tasted fresh, and the lasagna had a good texture and temperature.

Veggie pizza is piled high with fresh vegetables

Pizza is no longer served, but it may be available sometime as a special. Most of the time pizza
would be thought to be mainly a cheese dish, but the Veggie Pizza at Ripe was piled so high
with fresh vegetables it really provided a greater vegetable to cheese ratio than the lasagna. This
was a light, delicious pizza with a slight olive oil flavor, but mostly the vegetables were the main feature.

Stuffed chicken is one of the first entrees I tried

Stuffed Chicken looked quite innocuous in the display case, as if it were another ho-hum
American dish. This chicken, though, wrapped around a vegetable and herb filling, not only aroused
the taste buds, it aroused feelings of disappointment that I could find this type of flavor at so few other
places. This was the type of chicken I remember from growing up when the supply link from the farm
to the store was much shorter and mass production corporate farms were not the norm as they seem
to be today. The seasoning made the chicken even more juicy and flavorful, for an overall experience
that would have to be classified more as fine dining than simply "American food." So far I would have
to say this has been my favorite dish (although it is not currently on the menu).

An order of two Chicken Skewers from one of the special menus was also quite good, but
the amount of meat was quite small compared to the stuffed chicken and other types of chicken
dishes that are served. Still, with the fresh tomatoes, pineapple, and other veggies, I thought it was
quite worthwhile (and I do not mind a small quantity of chicken if the vegetables are good).

Moroccan vegetable tagine

Moroccan Vegetable Tagine is a sample of the entrees that are currently on the dinner
menu (and this particular dish is also served for lunch). Co-owner Becky said this was an example
of the type of food that has been recently added to the menu--representing the chef's interpretation
of a traditional dish. The ingredients listed on the menu include stewed lentils, tomatoes, zucchini,
eggplant, cilantro pesto rice, feta yogurt drizzle, and toasted almonds. Some ingredients not listed
on the menu included carrots, peas, tomatoes, mushrooms, and pita served on the side. It was
almost impossible to get all these ingredients in my mouth at the same time, but the blending of all
these flavors in one dish made it a very special experience.

Ripe seems to have stopped serving vegetables as a separate side order, but the
Asparagus had all the freshness and flavor I have experienced from the ones served fresh
from the farm in the Midwest. Ripe uses an outstanding cooking technique that makes this vegetable
just about perfect (and hopefully it will be available on specials or on the daily menu).

Couscous was a refreshing side dish with large sized semolina grains (Israeli style) and
a light flavoring that made it a good choice for eating with a meal or storing in the refrigerator for a later
snack. I was disappointed, though, that it was not served with the Moroccan tagine.

Veggie panini at Ripe

Panini sandwiches come with a variety of ingredients and excellent potato chips. The Veggie
Panini that I tried made me agree that the sandwiches are one of Ripe's specialties. While many
of the same vegetables were available on the pizza or lasagna, I liked the sandwich a little bit more.
The current menu offers a turkey pesto or meatloaf panini, and I imagine that both are very good.

Ripe usually offers a daily dinner plate or dinner special (sometimes meant for two persons), but
otherwise a meal is composed of individual items ordered separately. I usually find the dinner plates
beyond my price range, and this is one of the reasons I have concentrated on the sandwiches and a
la carte orders. Ripe has become one of the most expensive restaurants in El Paso if one were to order
a full course meal (based on ordering the individual items separately), but I found the Moroccan tagine
to be quite filling and ordered alone, made a moderately priced meal.

I would have to call Ripe upscale, as opposed to the casual atmosphere that it had when it did
more business as a deli and take out business. It now has live music several nights a week, and is
designed to make customers want to enjoy a relaxing (and leisurely if desired) meal. For vegetarian
food it is one of the few good choices in El Paso, and for meat dishes it is one of the city's better
choices. The biggest problem may be deciding which of the many cuisines served to choose. All of
the ones I have tried have been outstanding.